Month: May 2012

A Big Post.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Had a very busy three days – Thursday the AirConditioner packed up and we called the technicians. They came out and very kindly told us that the compressor had burned out and  when they make their report to their office, they will send us a quote for repair and replacement although he did indicate that it would probably cost as much to repair and replace as it would to buy  and install a new split system unit. My computer sort of crashed – well the program I was using to write the magazine (Publisher) crashed (again) and I lost all the work I had done. I can re-create it – I think.. I  went out in the pouring rain and bought a new heater for the lounge. Herself (Annabell, my wife) was really feeling the cold. It is winter here.

Friday I spent the day in town – the City of Adelaide  – some 300 miles and four hour’s drive away. It was raining when I left, rained much of the way down. When I telephoned herself later in the day she said it had been dry for most of the day and the dogs were outside. It rained off and on in Adelaide and for a good deal of the way home. I think it might be me – perhaps I attract the rain!  Sort of like ” Home Cooking” – When I go out the sun comes in, the rain comes down and it soaks my skin. – If you know the song you will know the rest.

Saturday and it rained again for most of the day and  the church ladies had organised  the “Biggest Morning Cuppa” which is a nation wide charity event to raise funds for the Cancer Council. It was well attended and the ladies did well , which is more than can be said for my diet. However, it is truthful to ay that although the event was a success, it was not as well attended as it had been in previous years. It really was a cold, wet and miserable day.  In the afternoon I closed the house up and turned on the heaters for herself. I vanished into the office and started work on re-creating the magazine. I discovered that I can load anything I want on to Publisher – except the magazine. As soon as I try to do that, Published crashes. I’ll sort something out..

The dogs have been very good these last few days as if they sense that not everything is well with the family.  When I came home from Adelaide I went into the laundry, sat down on the floor and played with them for a while.

Sometime this week we should get the quote on the AC and then decide what we want to do and how much Insurance will contribute towards repair or replacement. The system is fairly old(er) and  perhaps a new system is what we need and I think that’s about the way I am heading.

I have written nothing about the garden because there is nothing to write. It has been too wet to be able to do anything outside.  This is a big post. For that I am sorry but it has been an eventful week.

The rain it falleth on the Just.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Scruffy was the first ever Australian dog. She was a stray that someone found and my sister suggested that I might take her. I was a bit reluctant at first but she sort of grew on us and we had her for over 12 years. She left a very big hole when she died. We thought we had gone some way to filling it when we took Buster, and for a while it seemed ok. When I was away my son took him out for long walks. One night when he came home he noticed that the biscuit dish was empty so he started to fill it and as he did so the dog attacked him and opened up a nasty cut on his face. My wife got him to the hospital and he had a few stitches. She telephoned me and told me what had happened and that no one really trusted him any more and that she herself was a bit scared of him. I told her to take him to the RSPCA, which she did. I came home for a while a week or so later.

Misty was a rescue dog – a West Highland Terrier Cross – and we loved her. Sadly she had a troubled and abused past and she was not with us very long – we looked after her for about five years. I became so attached to her and I missed her.  After Misty came Chienna and then Mannie and these are our dogs today. At the moment they are inside sleeping. It’s been  raining  for the last two days –  raining to the extent that it is necessary to beware of falling animals if one goes outside  :o)

The rain it falleth on the just and on the unjust fella

But more upon the just because the unjust stole the just’s umberlla

All about dogs – past and present.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
This is my Main Man – the MalteseTerrorist!

I have had both of my dogs for over ten years now. Chienna we bought when she was seven weeks old, Mannie we rescued from the Pound and, according to the Vet. at the time, he was about 18 months to two years. Over the years they have been great associates and I  miss them when I have to go away – even just for a couple of days. Thankfully that does not happen too often these days and the last two meetings have been cancelled.  When I come home after being away for a couple of days I get out the car and into the house and the dogs are going nuts and even my wife tells me “Go out and see your associates before they go crazy” so I do. Once I have settled the dogs down again I can then talk about the trip and the meetings to my wife . Generally, when I am not working, I take the dogs out twice a day – first thing in the morning , sometimes when it’s still dark, and later in the evening after we have all been fed, wife, me and dogs. The little one – the Maltese – is, I think, starting to show his age. Either that or he is a very good little conman because I have to carry him for a little while until he gets his second wind. He starts off well, but halfway through the walk, he starts to slow down and I have to carry him for a little while. It’s ok – he’s not heavy –  Ohhh a song title I believe.. If I am working, it’s only once –  in the evening. In the summer when it’s hot I carry a pack with me which contains two bottles of water and a dish – one bottle for me. In the last 34 years I have had five dogs including the present two. The previous dogs were Misty, a West Highland Terrier  Cross that we rescued, Buster an Australian Cattle Dog that attacked my son, and Scruffy, a bitsa that was given to me. She was a doll and everyone adored her. Unfortunately  I do not have any photographs of Scruffy on line. I must attend to that sometime. I am also Secretary of the local branch of the Royal Flying Doctors Service, fundraising group but , hopefully, that’s about to end soon. I have decided not to stand for re-election but knowing how this group is with no one willing to take a position, I expect I will be secretary again, although I would like to think not.

Do you have to point that thing at me?

Slowing down – me and the weather!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I have been working  part of the week and never really managed to get much done. However, I did trim the trees at the  side of the washing area – or what will be the washing line area – and as soon as I get some good and dry weather I’ll set about cementing the new unit into position. I gave a fleeting thought to murder – dogicide – when I discovered that my delightful Chienna had dug up two of my plants. Well, I guess that’s what dogs do – so get over it! Actually, she’s not really guilty of digging things in the garden so this was unusual. I can forgive her!

A lovely lady, whose posts I follow has cancer and recently had a bone marrow transplant. She was ok for a very little while but the cancer has come back more aggressive than before and the outlook is not as good as  we would like it to be. She is also a  Christian lady and has asked us to pray for her – which we will.

I am a bit unsettled at the moment and I have changed my page three times already. I am trying to find something that I can relate to and that I think would be easy on the eyes for other people, so I am still experimenting.

Yesterday was quite nice but I left the concreting and decided to plant the roses I bought recently. I have not planted any out front because I am still waiting for the standard roses to come in and I want at least two of them – probably not many more at $45  each. I think this is a bit much but even in Adelaide Standard Roses are at least $39.00. I have no idea why they are so expensive, but there you are. I might look at a Nursery in NSW just out of Curiosity and compare prices.

On the coming Friday I will be going down to Adelaide at the invitation of my son and his Girlfriend. They will pick me up in the morning and take me into town. Trish has training and Andrew is going to his Adelaide office, but I will be with Andrew for most of the day. They are staying overnight and I am coming home on the coach. I will get my extensions for the gate and Andrew can bring it back with him on Saturday.

The Maltese Terrorist

Winter is closing in – rain and cold.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Sunrise over Whyalla JenkinsGoodness, it’s been over a week since I wrote anything. It has been a very busy week, but not in the garden. On Monday and Tuesday I was away at a funeral, on Wednesday we had a thunderstorm at 3:30am – neurotic dog, acute hearing, had to sit up with her until she calmed down. I had a call on Wednesday but I was just too tired to accept. On Wednesday, workmen put a drill through the gas main. No explosion, but the primary school and the university were evacuated. It is now Friday and we are still without gas. Fortunately, I can take care of cooking by using the barbecue, washing and heating are different issues.  It took until Saturday afternoon before gas was restored to the west of the city. It is interesting how much we depend on services and we  have difficulty in coping when they are interrupted. As I said, I used the barbecue, the side burner and the two burner camping stove, so we were ok. Others were not so.

On Thursday I went through to Port Augusta to look for Standard Roses, as well as a few other things, but to no avail. I came back (152 klm round trip) empty handed. I did manage to get some special degreasing stuff that I will use on the driveway. I don’t think it’s been cleaned ever. I hope to be able to do that this coming weekend.

Tuesday:  Over the weekend I was not able to do much. The boys were over most of the weekend and the youngest was back from  OlympicDam – in the far north of the State. and with the gas not returning on Saturday morning, there was consternation on how we would feed everyone. I didn’t think it would be a problem since we had a barbecue, but as I said, the gas returned on Saturday afternoon and all was ok.  I still have not managed to get my Standards but I did buy four new rose bushes which I will plant  over the next day or so.

We have had a lot of rain over the last week and I have not really had an opportunity to do much outside and I really need a dry day to do the driveway. Certainly most of it is covered in but I need dry weather or the driveway itself would never dry – particularly the covered section – which is most of it. For example I took the dogs out for a walk the other morning and it looked like it was going to be a fine day. I was not long back in the house before the dark clouds came over and it was raining again. I think it’s going to be a long, wet, cold and damp winter.

Starting again – Slowly

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The first of Five.When I was over in Port Augusta I bought three rose bushes, two lemon coloured and one white. I felt these colours should be right to contrast with the red wood chips. I have now planted them and I hope, early next week, to get two standard roses on 90cm canes. They will go between the three roses I planted yesterday, so it will be bush, standard, bush, standard, bush. It should look ok. I won’t be able to get much done next week because I have to go away for a funeral. It’s an 800 klm. round trip so I will be away for a two days. This is the funeral of a former Pastor who helped us out many years ago when we lost our Minister. He and his wife were willing to travel the 400k to take our services and help us through the transition, so I feel we should be be there to says our farewell.

I know it doesn’t look much on the photograph, but there are three rose bushes there – New Season Roses, I might add. The soil is not the best and I do hope that the roses will take and not be like plants of the past – I touch em – they die!! Anyway, it’s only the first bush so they are still a bit on the small side, however, if they survive they should look good and grow to a reasonable height. My other alternative, if they do not survive, is to plant them into large pots and have the post buried in the ground – same effect I think. I am quite anxious to see the effect when the Standard Roses are planted.

Wednesday – again!

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The Wet Driveway and front gardenIt rained all day yesterday and most of last night. It is dry (but cold) today but everything is still soggy from last night and early this morning. I have finished most of the work – still a few things to do and I would like to get them done so I can start on another project – mainly the washing area project but I can’t do that in the rain. Nor do I feel the urge to go out and dig and plant roses right at the moment. Never mind – it can’t rain forever – can it??